Barça tame Sevilla in Super Cup

Barcelona are on track to claim their first trophy of the season following a 2-0 win over Sevilla in the first leg of the 2016 Spanish Super Cup at the Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán in Sevilla.

Barcelona struck twice in the second half to put themselves in position to win their 12th Spanish Super Cup in Wednesday's return leg in the Camp Nou. Luis Suárez struck in the 53rd minute, while Munir added the crucial second in the 80th minute for the guests.

A sleepy opening spell was interrupted by a filtered pass from Lionel Messi into Suárez, whose shot was blocked by Sevilla goalkeeper Sergio Rico. The chance helped spring the game to life and quickly it turned into a back and forth affair between the two teams.

Barcelona boss Luis Enrique was given an early headache when defender Jeremy Mathieu did not even make it to the half hour mark due to an injury, forcing the Asturian manager to go to his bench. Replacing the Frenchman was new arrival Lucas Digne, who spent the previous season on loan at AS Roma from Paris Saint-Germain.

It was not to the level of last season's Spanish Super Cup first leg when they shipped four goals against Athletic Bilbao, but the hesitation in the Catalonians' back line was still noticeable, as the Andalusians forced a number of deep clearances from the Barcelona defence.

Barcelona's injury worries grew substantially more serious 10 minutes before half-time when midfielder Andres Iniesta was forced to exit the affair after absorbing a knock on the knee. Denis Suárez was brought on to replace the veteran, who grimaced in pain while taking a seat on the bench.

With their attack stalling thanks in part to the effort of Jorge Sampaoli's charges, Barcelona's frustration started to grow. It was impossible for Messi to wiggle free, as every time he collected the ball, at least three Sevilla players were there to pressure La Pulga.

But the second half was a different story for the visitors, and within 10 minutes of the re-start Luis Suárez fired home to give Barcelona a 1-0 lead. Denis Suárez lofted a pass into the area for Arda Turan, who skillfully chested the ball right into the path of the onrushing Luis Suárez and there was nothing Rico could do to stop the Uruguayan's shot.

By the final half-hour things grew chippy, as pushes devolved into shoves and any tackle committed had an extra edge to it. Both teams had a shout for a penalty, but in each instance it was waved off by the referee.

Barcelona never stopped looking for a second goal and 10 minutes from full-time, substitute Munir struck to hand Luis Enrique's side a 2-0 lead and a massive advantage in the series. Messi spearheaded a counter attack and the Argentine's pass found the fresh-legged Munir, who zipped in between two Sevilla defenders and adroitly hit a shot on the outside of his left-foot that beat Rico.

Sevilla could consider themselves lucky for not conceding a third late on, as Barcelona had a slew of chances, namely a Messi shot in the 90th minute, but Rico was there to save to prevent any further damage.

Nevertheless, another piece of hardware looks set to be added to the Camp Nou trophy cabinet on Wednesday.